Ethel Wales Movies
Actress Ethel Wales made her first film appearance in Cecil B. DeMille's The Whispering Chorus (1918). Wales remained a DeMille regular until the early '30s, playing such small but indelible roles as the Roman matron who complains that she's been seated too far away to see the Christians being devoured by lions in Sign of the Cross (1932). She also worked for C.B.'s director brother William in the exceptional 1921 drama Miss Lulu Bett. Ethel Wales remained active in films until 1950. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Fancy Pants is a musicalized remake of the oft-filmed Harry Leon Wilson story Ruggles of Red Gap, tailored to the talents of "Mr. Robert Hope (formerly Bob)". The basic plotline of the original, that of an English butler entering the service of a rowdy nouveau-riche family from the American West, is retained. The major difference is that main character (Bob Hope) plays a third-rate American actor who only pretends to be a British gentleman's gentleman. Social-climbing American heiress Lucille Ball hires Hope to impress her high-society English acquaintances, then takes him back to her ranch in New Mexico. Though there are many close shaves, Hope manages to convince the wild and woolly westerners that he's a genuine British Lord--even pulling the wool over the eyes of visiting celebrity Teddy Roosevelt (John Alexander). Never as droll as the 1935 Leo McCarey-directed Ruggles of Red Gap, Fancy Pants nonetheless works quite well on its own broad, slapsticky level. If the ending seems abrupt, it may be because the original finale, in which a fleeing Bob Hope and Lucille Ball were to be rescued by surprise guest star Roy Rogers, was abandoned just before the scene was shot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, (more)
- 1950
Dorothy Patrick, Republic Pictures' all-purpose leading lady, heads the cast of Tarnished. Arthur Franz co-stars as Bud Dolliver, who returns to his hometown after a hitch in the Marines. Because of Bud's previous bad reputation, the townsfolk assume that he's been in prison. Despite his protestations, everyone chooses to believe the worst of Dolliver -- everyone, that is, except his childhood sweetheart Lou Dolliver (Patrick). Eventually, a crisis arises which allows Bud to prove himself once and for all. Former "Henry Aldrich" James Lydon is most effective in an sympathetic supporting role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy Patrick, Arthur Franz, (more)
A woman struggles to reassemble her broken life in this drama that features Susan Hayward in her first starring role. The woman started out as a night-club singer, but abandoned her career after marrying a budding radio star. At first she does everything she can to insure his success, but when he finally hits the big-time, the woman finds herself deeply depressed and turning toward the bottle for solace because he is increasingly absent from her life. She becomes a full-fledged alcoholic and her husband, unable to take it anymore begins divorce and custody procedures. It takes such extreme measures to wake her up to her problem. Fortunately, with hard work, and renewed support from her husband, she overcomes her addiction. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Hayward, Lee Bowman, (more)
- 1947
A curmudgeonly small-town doctor resents the presence of a new younger physician and his newfangled ways. He is especially dismayed by the new doctor's tendency to sing, a behavior the older fellow deems inappropriate. When the new doc meets a pretty young school teacher, romantic sparks fly. Unfortunately, she is engaged to the town pharmacist. This coupled with the older doctor's disapproval convinces the new fellow to leave town. The elder physician's maid intervenes and changes the young ones mind. It's a good thing too, for he saves the older one from a near fatal attack of appendicitis and earns both the veteran medic's gratitude and respect. Later the two take on a snooty new surgeon whose ambition has blinded him to simple common sense. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don Beddoe, Bing Crosby, (more)
- 1946
Director Joseph Kane adapted his own story Diamond Carlisle for the screenplay of In Old Sacramento--the third film version of Kane's original tale. Bill Elliot stars as masked bandit Spanish Jack, who behaves as badly as he wishes with few of the usual redeeming features plaguing most cinema desperadoes. In fact, in the earlier film versions of Diamond Carlisle, Elliot's character was the villain! After numerous hairbreadth adventures, Elliot dies in the arms of loving saloon singer Constance Moore. Also released as Flame of Sacramento, this was the first of a long line of films in which onetime "B" cowboy star Bill Elliot would portray a new kind of "B" western hero--one who drank at any opportunity, took advantage of unarmed foes, and lived by his own personal code rather than the edicts of society. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Constance Moore, Hank Daniels, (more)
- 1944
Though it's not readily obvious from the title, Lumberjack is the 52nd entry in the long-running "Hopalong Cassidy" series. In this one, Hoppy (William Boyd) and his pals California (Andy Clyde) and Jimmy (Jimmy Rogers) come to the rescue of recently widowed Julie (Ellen Hall). It so happens that Julie has fallen heir to a valuable spread of timber property, meaning that any one of her business rivals could have been the murderer of her husband. Not only does Hoppy reveal the killer's identity, but he also moves heaven and earth to make sure that Julie's mortgage-lifting lumber shipment arrives at its destination on time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Andy Clyde, (more)
- 1941
Border Vigilantes was the 34th entry in the "Hopalong Cassidy" western series, with 32 more still on the way. William Boyd stars once more as black-clad champion of justice Hopalong Cassidy, while Andy Clyde and Russell Hayden tag along as California Carson and Lucky Jenkins. This time our heroes ride into a town bedevilled by outlaw raids, despite the existence of a local vigilante committee. Sensing that something's wrong with this set-up, Hoppy does a bit of digging and discovers that the outlaw chieftan is actually the head of the vigilantes (talk about conflict of interests!) The strong supporting cast includes Frances Gifford, Victor Jory, Morris Ankrum, and former cowboy stars Tom Tyler and Hal Taliaferro (aka Wally Wales). With Border Vigilantes, the series' assistant director Derwin Abrahams was promoted to the director's chair, with splendid results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Andy Clyde, (more)
- 1940
Hidden Gold was the 29th installment in the "Hopalong Cassidy" western series. It perhaps goes without saying that "Hoppy" is played by William Boyd, while his sidekick Lucky Jenkins is essayed by Russell Hayden. The eponymous hidden gold is being covertly mined from an equally hidden mine by a gang of outlaws, who take time out to stage a series of stagecoach holdups. Hoppy and Lucky arrive in town to put an end to the robberies, but first they have to determine the identity of the outlaw leader. After five reels' worth of "cat and mouse", the action is laid on thick and heavy in reel six. Future singing cowboy star Eddie Dean shows up in a very minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, Russell Hayden, (more)
- 1940
Paramount's "Zane Grey" series continued rolling into the 1940s with Knights of the Range. Taking a break from the studio's Hopalong Cassidy pictures, Russell Hayden stars as Renn Frayne, a college-educated youth who finds more than he bargained for when he heads westward. After a terrifying run-in with an outlaw gang run by a bloke named Gamecock (Morris Ankrum), Frayne aligns himself with heroine Holly Ripple (Jean Parker), whose father's cattle ranch is in danger of falling into the hands of the villains. Victor Jory manages to play on both sides of the fence as wily gambler Malcolm Lascallie. Knights of the Range was directed by Lesley Selander, who like star Hayden was an alumnus of the Hopalong Cassidy unit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Hayden, Victor Jory, (more)
- 1940
In addition to being a fine Western in its own right, this film served to introduce perhaps Hollywood's oddest romantic couple: the gruff but lovable Wallace Beery and the tart but lovable Marjorie Main. Beery plays "Reb" Harkness who, with his Mexican pal Pete (Leo Carrillo), is almost caught red-handed attempting to rob a train carrying General Custer (Paul Kelly) and the cavalry. Double-crossed by his partner and with the cavalry in hot pursuit, Reb escapes to Wyoming where he finds shelter on a ranch belonging to orphaned Lucy Kinkaid (Anne Rutherford) and her kid brother Jimmy (Bobs Watson). The local ranchers are battling an unscrupulous empire builder, Buckley (Joseph Calleia), and Reb is involuntarily dragged into the feud. When plain-speaking blacksmith Mehitabel (Marjorie Main) loses her brother to Buckley's bullets, Reb takes matters into his own hands, and with the help of Custer's men, he manages to end Buckley's reign of terror. Casting plain-looking, twangy Marjorie Main as Beery's leading lady was a stroke of genius. The two actors complimented each other to the nth degree, and Main was seen as a worthy replacement of the late Marie Dressler. As a result, the former stage actress (Dead End) was put under a seven-year contract by MGM, who co-starred her with Beery in Barnacle Bill (1941), The Bugle Sounds (1941), Jackass Mail (1942), Rationing (1944), and Bad Bascomb (1946). Wyoming, which also benefitted from fine performances by Henry Travers as a sly sheriff and Stanley Fields as Buckley's chief henchman, was filmed on location at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the Grand Tetons National Park by a director, Richard Thorpe, who had worked in the Western field since the silent days. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery, Leo Carrillo, (more)
This Roy Rogers vehicle is a followup (though not a sequel) to 1940's Young Buffalo Bill. Definitely a "premature anti-fascist", singing frontiersman Bill Hickok (Roy Rogers) tries to thwart the takeover of West by foreign invaders. John Miljan is frontier fuhrer Nicholas Tower, who hires a gang of storm troopers-er, henchmen-to do his dirty work. Southern belle Louise Mason (Jacqueline Wells) initially aligns herself with Tower because he is ostensibly anti-Damyankee, but she finally turns against him when she realizes what he's up to. Calamity Jane also appears in the person of comic actress Sally Payne, while Gabby Hayes shows up as a character named-but of course-Gabby. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes, (more)
- 1939
Paramount's Sudden Money has all the earmarks of a Charlie Ruggles-Mary Boland vehicle, except that this time Ruggles is teamed with Marjorie Rambeau. It all begins when Sweeney Patterson (Ruggles) and his brother-in-law Doc Finney (Broderick Crawford) win $150,000 in the Irish sweepstakes. All of a sudden, Sweeney and his wife Elsie (Marjorie Rambeau) are besieged by relatives and "friends" whom they've never seen before, all of whom want a piece of the action. After a series of not-so-merry misadventures, the Pattersons decide that they were better off when they were poor. Not bad for such a familiar plotline, Sudden Money benefits from the byplay between Ruggles and Rambeau, who play together as if they'd been a team for years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marjorie Rambeau, Charles Grapewin, (more)
As in all his early westerns, Roy Rogers battles true Old West outlaws in the fine In Old Caliente. He is, as usual, Roy Rogers, but this time a trusted hand at the Olde California ranchero belonging to Don José (Frank Puglia). Unbeknownst to the Don, however, his "half-breed" foreman, Suguaro (Frank La Rue), is in league with Calkins (Harry Woods), the nasty Gringo behind a series of gold-shipment robberies. With Suguaro's help, Calkins manages to pin the crimes on Roy and Gabby (George "Gabby" Hayes) and the Don has them imprisoned. But Rita (Katherine DeMille), Don José's Eastern-bred daughter, believes them to be innocent and secures their release. The ensuing chase leads straight to the Pacific Ocean and the evil Suguaro is killed in the surf. Roy Rogers performs "Sundown on the Range", by Fred Rose, "The Moon, She Will be Shining Tonight" and, in a duet with George "Gabby" Hayes, "We're Not Coming Out Tonight", the latter two penned by Walter Samuels. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Mary Hart, (more)
Donald Barry plays the legendary outlaw of the title in this Roy Rogers Western which, needless to say, plays fast and loose with history. Returning to Missouri from the gold fields of California, Gabby Whittaker (George "Gabby" Hayes) is persuaded by his granddaughter, Mary (Pauline Moore), to deposit his earnings in the Northfield bank, which is then promptly robbed. Assigned by the Bankers' Association to track down the presumed culprits, Jesse James and his brother Frank (Harry Worth), Roy Rogers soon learns that the Jameses are innocent in this particular crime, which was instead committed by the bank's greedy president, Sam Wyatt (Arthur Loft). Before Rogers can capture the wily banker, he must contend with the interference of Captain Worthington (Harry Woods), a railroad detective more interested in pocketing the 50,000-dollar reward than see justice done. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, George "Gabby" Hayes, (more)
- 1939
Frontier Pony Express is a fast-paced Roy Rogers program western which could stand up on its own with any big-budgeted "A" picture. Per the title, Rogers plays an express rider, working the California-to-Kansas City route. While the Civil War rages in the East, our hero must contend with Yankee and Rebel forces who've encroached upon his home turf, both trying to win California over to their side. Meanwhile, businessman Lassiter (Edward Keane), ostensibly on the Confederate side, is actually a mercenary who hopes to play one army against the other so that he can move in and take over the territory himself. There's an awful lot of plot in this 58-minute oater, but Roy Rogers still finds time to serenade leading lady Mary Hart. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Rogers, Mary Hart, (more)
- 1938
The most successful of Joe E. Brown's post-Warner Bros. efforts, The Gladiator finds cavern-mouthed Brown winning a cash prize at a movie theatre, then using his windfall to attend college. The son of a legendary athlete, clumsy Brown is unable to live up to his dad's reputation. Genially batty scientist Lucien Littlefield injects Brown with a strength serum that turns Our Hero into a star football player. When he balks at joining the team, the coach sends pretty June Travis, the girlfriend of campus jock Robert Kent, to flatter Brown into suiting up. At first considering Brown a twerp, Travis grows to genuinely love him, especially after he is publicly humiliated by Kent. The climax finds Brown wrestling against Man Mountain Dean, with virtually everyone at the college betting their bankroll on Brown. Trouble is, the serum begins to wear off at the most inopportune moment. Despite his milquetoast characterization, Joe E. Brown was in fact a champion-level athlete; he used no doubles in the wrestling scenes, and as a result landed in the hospital with a double hernia. The Gladiator is a lighthearted adaptation of the satirical novel by Philip Wylie, which was reportedly also the inspiration for the Superman comic strip. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe E. Brown, Man Mountain Dean, (more)
- 1936
One Horse Town is the TV title for MGM's 1936 version Small Town Girl (the new title was bestowed to avoid confusion with the 1953 remake). Robert Taylor plays an irresponsible playboy who is arrested in a backwater town for drunken driving. While intoxicated, Taylor proposes to local girl Janet Gaynor. She accepts, knowing full well that he wouldn't have popped the question had he been sober. Gaynor spends the rest of the film trying to reform Taylor and to get him to fall in love with her while he's got all his faculties--no small trick, in that her competition is sophisticated Binnie Barnes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janet Gaynor, Robert Taylor, (more)
- 1936
Bar 20 Rides Again was the 3rd of William Boyd's Hopalong Cassidy flicks. As with most early entries in the Cassidy series, the film is longer than usual, with emphasis on dialogue and situation for the first 2/3 of the picture. This time, Hoppy runs up against cattle rustlers, headed by Harry Worth, a land baron with a Napoleonic complex. Had the film been made a few years later, Worth would have been depicted a sagebrush Hitler. The slowness of early reels is compensated for with a thrilling "race to the rescue" climax. Boyd's sidekicks in Bar 20 Rides Again are George Hayes (not yet "Gabby", but "Windy") and Jimmy Ellison; leading lady Jean Rouverol later became a prolific writer of children's books. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William "Hopalong" Boyd, James Ellison, (more)
It's the wild and woolly waterfront world of San Francisco in the late 1800s in this rambling tale of an outrageous nightclub owner (Edward G. Robinson) and his efforts at wooing lovely Mary Rutledge (Miriam Hopkins), a lovely Eastern lass left to her own devices in the rowdy port city. The innocent babe loses that innocence when she becomes a kept lady, running the roulette wheel in Robinson's nightclub. The plot matures when Mary falls in love with an honest and upright gold miner. When the lovers are discovered during a fateful tryst, they flee the evil Robinson, hoping to escape as stowaways aboard a departing ship. Robinson is magnificent in this ruffian role. This action-filled adventure is suitable for the whole family. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, (more)
- 1935
Charming but ruthless fugitive gangster Dutra (Brian Donlevy) demands that a doctor (Oscar Apfel) perform plastic surgery upon him. Emerging from the bandages with a new face, Dutra murders the doctor, changes his name to Dawson, and heads to California, secure in the belief that no one who can identify him is still living. Unfortunately for him, the sole link to Dawson's past, nurse Molly Lamont, is now working in Hollywood -- where Dawson is enjoying a whole new career as a movie star! Things move along comically until Dawson tips his hand by taking his leading lady Sheila (Phyllis Brooks) hostage. Salvation comes in the unlikely form of obnoxious studio-press-agent Joe Haynes (Wallace Ford). Also released as It Happened in Hollywood, Another Face is a very uneven blend of comedy and melodrama, making up in energy what it lacks in coherence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Ford, Brian Donlevy, (more)
- 1934
In this odd-ball comedy, a self-sacrificing but eccentric mother attempts to guide her equally eccentric family. She has two sons and a daughter. One son is a communist and the other is a struggling prizefighter. Her daughter is trying to snag a married booking agent to help her break into radio. In addition to watching over her children, the mother must also help her husband find a full-time job. Real trouble comes when her husband's brother dies of indigestion following a big Chinese dinner and leaves her with $500,000 provided that she leave her family. She decides to take the money and run. Fortunately, she eventually decides to come back home. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aline MacMahon, Guy Kibbee, (more)
- 1934
This thriller centers around a super detective's attempt to mastermind the perfect crime after he suspects his wife of infidelity. A woman has been blackmailing the man he suspects of messing with his wife. The detective kills this woman and blames the lover. The hapless man is convicted of the crime. Unfortunately, his wife continues to reject him. The despondent detective kills himself, but not before he sends a letter to his peers explaining his evil deed. To appease the censors, the film has an odd ending tacked on: the whole story was really part of a criminologist's novel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Kruger, Karen Morley, (more)
- 1934
Wallace Beery plays P.T. Barnum in this comic biography of the renowned showman. As the story opens, Phineas Taylor Barnum is operating a dry goods store in New York City with his friend Bailey Walsh (Adolphe Menjou), and he is looking for a way to boost business. He strikes upon the idea of adding a sideshow of human oddities and curious individuals, much to the annoyance of his wife Nancy (Janet Beecher). But the sideshow brings in a large audience, and soon it begins to overtake the retail store; however, Barnum's venture comes to a halt when it is revealed that Zorro The Bearded Lady (May Boley) has fake facial hair,and that Joyce Heth (Lucille LaVerne) wasn't really George Washington's nursemaid, as she claims. Despite this setback, Barnum has developed a taste for show business, and he brings noted English singer Jenny Lind (Virginia Bruce) to the U.S. for a concert tour, where she becomes the toast of New York. Barnum soon becomes infatuated with Lind, and while his attempts to woo her are often fumblingly inept, they're effective enough to alienate Nancy, who leaves him and New York City for good. Between his attempts to romance Lind and his shameless ballyhoo for performing midget General Tom Thumb (George Brasno), Barnum finds himself on Walsh's bad side, who has taken to drinking to ease his anger. After his budding romance with Lind fails, Barnum suffers an even greater indignity when his museum, featuring his sideshow freaks and other wonders and oddities, is burned to the ground by angry rivals. However, Barnum's performers show their loyalty by offering their savings to Barnum to help him rebuild, and Nancy returns to Barnum's side in his moment of need. Walsh also appears, ready to bury the hatchet and show off his latest acquisition -- an elephant named Jumbo who could be used in a traveling act, or perhaps even a circus.... The Mighty Barnum was based on the play by Gene Fowler and Bess Meredyth, who also wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wallace Beery, Adolphe Menjou, (more)
- 1933
An espionage drama set in the early 20th century, Ever in My Heart stars Barbara Stanwyck as a New England naif who marries a German citizen (Otto Kruger). In 1915, Stanwyck and her husband suffer a brace of blows: The death of their son, and the sinking of the Lusitania, the latter incident sparking a wave of anti-German sentiment. Hounded out of their small town by the angered citizens, Stanwyck and Kruger move to Europe, where the husband voluntarily leaves his wife to join the Kaiser's army. In 1917, Stanwyck, working as a canteen volunteer in France, discovers that her once pro-American husband is now a German spy. To save him from a firing squad, she poisons his wine, then kills herself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Otto Kruger, (more)
- 1933
"Thou Shall Not Be Caught" is the commandment referred to in this low-budget melodrama ostensibly based on Ella Wendel, a New York recluse whose death provoked an avalanche of claimants to her 36-million-dollar estate. Poverty Row company Allied Pictures raised the amount to 50 million dollars and had Alan Hale act the dead woman's long-lost husband, a circus knife-thrower who promptly kills his present wife and makes plans to claim the fortune through the daughter he had also deserted. By the time Hale reaches New York City, other claimants are already pounding on executor William V. Mong's door, including a floozy (Marie Prevost), hired by the lawyer's partner (Theodore Von Eltz), and pretty Gloria Shea, who may or may not be Hale's daughter. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marian Marsh, Theodore Von Eltz, (more)
